Neither Stephen Curry, nor Doncic, nor Jokic: the fate of LeBron James in the hands of Durant and Antetokounmpo

With the quarterfinals of the Cup set, The King already knows what his obstacles are in the great challenge

There could be Stephen Curry with his Golden State Warriors or maybe Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, even the champion and best player of the last Playoffs, Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, however, at least in the Western Conference, LeBron James will have face Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns as the first rival in the fight for a tournament that it does not own and for which, among others, Giannis Antetokounmpo will also fight.

The record can grow

Two of the best players of the last two decades, The King and Durántula, face each other in the second quarterfinal match of the new NBA competition in Oste, an In-Season Tournament that promises to be a novelty with a path in the future and therefore an inexcusable challenge for the 23rd from Angeleno and the 35th from Arizona, who do not have too many attempts left to expand their respective record.

Thus, Kings and Pelicans meet on December 4, at 4:00 a.m. (Spanish time), while Lakers and Suns do so on Tuesday, December 5, at the same time, and both clashes will result in a confrontation between the best in the West, who will have to face each other – as you see, in Playoff format, although in one game – for a place in the final against the best in the East.

There, on the other side of the American pond, Pacers and Celtics play that same Monday, December 4, at 1:30 a.m., with Bucks-Knicks taking place on December 5, in the same time slot. The semifinals will take place on the 7th, while the final will be on the 9th, all in a compact format and with a single venue, Las Vegas.

Durant and Giannis, better

Based on the performance of their stars and classification, Durant and Antetokounmpo have to be favorites in their respective duels, with the Bucks star averaging 30.1 points per game and Durant doing 31.4 each night.

Furthermore, the Suns (11-6) and Bucks (13-5) are two of the strongest teams and a priori the Lakers have the odds to lose. However, neither LeBron, nor Anteto, nor even Durant himself are favorites to win this first edition of the ‘Cup’ since the Boston Celtics, so far the best team in the league, have the best squad.